Because of the groundless increase in the number of inspections of ships by Russian coast guards in the Sea of Azov, there has been a 10% decrease in calls to the ports of Mariupol and Berdyansk.Ukraine's Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelyan says Ukrainian ports in Mariupol and Berdyansk are seeing problems due to Russia's actions following the illegal construction of the Kerch Strait Bridge. "This is being done to destabilize Ukraine's Azov region. But I'm sure that, together with our partners in the coalition against Russia, they won't be able to fully succeed. Berdyansk and Mariupol are experiencing certain problems in this regard, but the situation in the region remains stable, while the ports are still operating. At the same time, we are working with our partners to introduce similar sanctions against Russia's Black Sea ports," he told TV Channel 112 Ukraine on August 4. "Now various scenarios to counteract Russia are being worked out, up to the restriction of calls to Russian ports for vessels with European registration," he added.

According to the minister, because of Russia's actions, there is a decrease of 10% of calls to the ports of Mariupol and Berdyansk. "This is a significant figure. We bear direct losses of hundreds of millions of hryvnias. If we assess damage in the social and economic terms, if we calculate losses of shipowners who are forced to delay their passage across the Kerch Strait or entering the Sea of Azov, the losses will be several times higher," he stressed.

"These are not exactly Ukraine's losses, as each particular EU state that transports cargo via the ports of Mariupol and Berdyansk bears such losses, as idle time of a vessel costs several thousand dollars. The Russian side will have to compensate for all these damages. One can speak with Russia only in the 'language' of arms or sanctions. There is no other alternative, because we see that this country has completely 'gone off the rails'," Omelyan summed up.